Queenstown to Strahan

[ruscook]

Hi all,
I'm going to be in Tassie in Feb and looking at bringing my road based single speed (Giant Bowery)...

Is the road from Queenstown to Strahan, suitable for a road bike and safe enough (it looks narrow with no shoulder on Google maps)?

Any tips for time of day etc to ride it?

Thanks
Russ

[mcdurdin]

It is suitable for a road bike but you'll suffer on a single speed because it's just up and down for 40km. There's no level road after the first couple of km past the airport. Times of day? It's always pretty quiet, but sightlines are very poor, most traffic takes it pretty slowly ( http://g.co/maps/hzqay ) Don't expect any views, it's pretty heavily vegetated most of the way ( http://g.co/maps/c4u29 ). You can expect a few motorbikes to buzz you quickly, a few motor homes, a truck or two. And the odd lost tourist.

[zephy]

the road is very windy and hilly.... I nearly got taken out by a bus last January and that was in the campervan!! if you have a MTB drive thru Strahan and head out to Macquarie Harbour where there is a great camping spot for some ridiculous cost $6 a night comes to mind... anyway.... head out onto the beach and just ride and ride... great fun!! the Salmon fishing isn't bad either....

if you're in Queenstown, try the run up Mt Huxley(?) (out past the golf course), that is what I plan to ride late Jan - early Feb in 2012 before tackling the major goal of Mt Wellington in Hobart and some of the other climbs in the other thread.... should be good......

.

[sogood]

Lovely country but be very careful.

The roads are relatively narrow and there are large logging trucks and tourist coaches flying by. As said earlier, sight line can be very poor with twist and turns, up and downs, and shades from overhead forest canopy don't help. Wear and use brightly coloured safety gears.

We drove all around Tasmania a year and a bit ago and I saw quite a few cyclists who got shaken by passing vehicles. I feared for their safety.

But that's a beautiful part of the world. If you do get there, it'll be one memorable trip!

[ruscook]

thanks for the replies guys... definitely food for thought as to if it's worthwhile cycling the narrow and windy roads...

Do you think it would be safer leaving Queenstown around 7am (hopefully before the tourists)?

[sogood]

Do you think it would be safer leaving Queenstown around 7am (hopefully before the tourists)?

When we went to Strahan and on the highway, we saw a car hanging halfway up a tree. No ideas if it was deliberately placed there or went airborn on a high speed bend. It was food for thought.

From what I saw, tourists vehicles are fine but it's those logging trucks. They are scary when flying past.

[master6]

As an alternative, you could do the Queenstown, Zeehan, Strahan route. I have ridden that way and found it as safe as a house. On the other hand, as you are doing a once only ride, go as planned and head for the scrub when vehicles approach. The traffic is not so heavy as to cause frequent problems. The suggestion about bright clothing was on the mark. Dull colours could get lost in the varying shade, sunshine, mist, and eveything else that the west coast offers. In that terrain, you will hear any trucks approaching.

[il padrone]

Queenstown to Strahan... with a single speed ?!!

Put it on the train

[ruscook]

Thanks Master, that will turn a 40k ride to an 80km. Besides being a big ride (specially on a single speed) I don't know if I'll have that much free time. I'll be in Tassie with the wife and inlaws, so the idea of a morning ride was really to leave early, and meet her at Strahan.

Still I've got 2 months to sort out where to ride in Tassie, so no hurry

Il Padrone, that's what I was thinking ride one way, train the other

Thanks for the feedback all, it's definitely helpful.

[sogood]

In that terrain, you will hear any trucks approaching.

This is very true. We made extra stops randomly along the highway and every one of them was different. It was just a fantastic feeling to be in the middle of "somewhere", smell the freshness of a forest and utter silence. An amazing place!

[master6]

Russ, no trip to Tassie is complete without a stop at Richmond Gaol and Bakery. We have what is known as "The Vets Ride" at 9.00am sharp every Wednesday morning. We do 63km, and return to the bakery at about 11.15am for coffee and lies. You will be most welcome.